<p>Re-read a recent post I wrote and realized i made a major grammar error due to cut and paste carelessness. Aargh. Should have said anyone besides me (instead of except me) getting major pushback from… </p>
<p>Sounds petty, but it was bugging me. Thanks for your understanding.</p>
<p>Woot! Woot! Zebradome - very cool!</p>
<p>Common App Essays:</p>
<p>Can anyone post ideas or pointers to the best resources or ideas they found for getting kids started on a good (not totally cliche) common app essay? </p>
<p>Just read DS’s NMSF essay. It will do for that, but he definitely needs to take a different approach for the common app. I need some help on showing him some good ones, some bad ones, etc.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Conn. college as some essay examples on its website that might be helpful.</p>
<p>Congrats ! zibradome…what a relief! </p>
<p>Momofwon-no worries I new what you meant…</p>
<p>I sent S every link possible about writing good essays because he zones out when I talk about it. Now he wrote his rough draft and it isn’t good. I have read enough advice here that I am trying to stay out of it. He can ask teachers and continue to work on it.
I will only tell him that it is a little formal and he should add more personal details and stories.</p>
<p>Thanks glido and onlyonemom! It is a great relief, but she still has to formally apply now. She is still holding off on doing that though until after her OV (which of course we are still waiting to hear back from the coach on what date she will be going)!</p>
<p>I have never waited so long in my entire life!!! ha ha ha</p>
<p>mathmomvt – I sent S this example and he came back with a draft of his essay:
[Common</a> App Help Blog: May 2013](<a href=“http://blog.commonapphelp.org/2013_05_01_archive.html]Common”>http://blog.commonapphelp.org/2013_05_01_archive.html)</p>
<p>Thanks onlyonemom, 29happymom26 and Classof2015. Will take a look at those resources and remember to try to stay out if it as much as possible. (Did not say anything about the NMSC one except when he told me the topic that I thought it was too cliche for common app)</p>
<p>Last night our DS went to a meeting of 8th graders who will be freshmen at his H.S. next year (and their parents). He was asked to speak about his experiences at the school and to answer questions. He drove himself and came back home in a couple of hours. For those two hours I couln’t stop thinking that it seems as though it were only a month ago that we went to that very same meeting with him as an eighth grader. Where did the time go? He is tall. His voice dropped - and where did he get the poise to speak so comfortably to all those adults?</p>
<p>Hello fellow 2014 parents—has anyone figured out how to have non-teacher LORs sent with the Common App? It appears there is a link that allows the applicant to invite people to submit non-teacher LORs but I don’t know what the ‘invitation’ email will look like. My son wanted to be able to explain to the LOR writer how the process will work, but can’t figure out how to see the process w/o actually inviting someone to write a letter. I suppose the old-fashioned hand-addressed stamped envelope would work, but am trying to use the electronic aspects of the CA as much as possible, thinking it will be easier to track submissions that way.</p>
<p>I welcome any hints from anyone who has already gotten this far with the CA. Thanks!</p>
<p>My d’s school is telling me the common app isn’t ready to send transcripts. Is that really true?</p>
<p>I think I irritated her by contacting the CA schools and ask them how to send them if the school wasn’t able to send them in. Most just said to send as pdf. The registrar is definitely getting a little irritated with me checking up, but hey - my d got her apps out 6 weeks ago, I think it’s time to figure out how to get the transcripts sent.</p>
<p>Eyemamom- K2’s school is sending everything via PDF- school report, LORs, resume, etc. Thankful we don’t have to figure out how to link everything on the CA. I know it’s frustrating to have the app completed long ago and be in a holding pattern for the official school stuff. Good luck!</p>
<p>Glido- thanks for sharing the story about your son. He sounds like a wonderful young man. It seems like 4 years have gone by in a flash!</p>
<p>Ct417</p>
<p>S contacted a non teacher for a recommendation via email as for a reference. Then we sent the invite via the CA. Gee I hope that was right! </p>
<p>Eyeonmom- I can relate …I definitely irritated the GC …not meaning too…long story…</p>
<p>mathmomvt – got these bookmarked when someone (forgot who) posted these on another thread hoping DS would read or get inspiration from them. Of course I was wishfully thinking as he does not want to read anything I show him and thinks his essays are good (ha!). But perhaps your DC will be more open-minded.
Some good examples of essays to various schools.</p>
<p>[SparkCollege:</a> Sample Essays](<a href=“SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides”>SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides)</p>
<p>[Johns</a> Hopkins University Office of Undergraduate Admissions: Apply, Essays That Worked, Class of 2017](<a href=“http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays/]Johns”>http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays/)</p>
<p>Finally got through to GC. Made an appt for after the Sept ACT scores come out to discuss strategy and whether or not to send scores to those schools on S’s list that are test optional. Once we get his feedback on S’s chances at different schools, S will pick one to do ED and the rest will be EA and hopefully all his apps will be out by Nov 1.</p>
<p>eyemamon: Does your school use Naviance? Our gc recently mentioned there is a problem with the link(connection?) between Naviance and CA right now as it pertains to letters of recommendation and transcripts. It is supposed to be resolved by next week.</p>
<p>onlyonemom–thank you for the reply. I was hoping to learn if the ‘email invitation’ results in the letter writer having to address and mail ten envelopes and if so, I wanted to have my son deliver the addressed, stamped envelopes but I cannot figure out how the process operates and the GC does not seem to know either. In her defense, this is new and we are still in the early stages.</p>
<p>CT1417, I read somewhere on the help section of common application… They suggested to not have some documents e-mailed in (via common application website/e-mail system) and some documents (such as LOR) mailed in. They stated that this will cause confusions at the colleges. They said to do this only if truly necessary. DS was going to have his teachers mail their LORs but then changed to having the teachers e-mailing them in.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure that if you invite a letter-writer by email, the default is for them to provide the LOR electronically (once).</p>